Role and KK office
Costs Draftsman, Perth, Australia
Specialisms
Negotiation, Drafting (Bills, PODS, POR etc), Fixed Costs, Multi-Track
Background
Ian started working in costs in 2002 an quickly progressed to costs draftsman, costs negotiator, costs advisor, advocate and costs manager, all before he reached 30. He has worked with and for some of the largest firms of solicitors and insurers in the UK. He has also represented numerous local authorities and the Government Legal Department. He now has over 20 years’ worth of experience dealing with pretty much every single aspect of civil litigation on both claimant and defendant side. Ian recently emigrated to Australia but thanks to the emergence of remote working, he is now able to continue his legal costs career down under!
Notable cases
- Crane v Canons Leisure Centre [2007] EWCA Civ 1352 – The fees of external costs draftsmen are profit costs and not disbursements, and so solicitors can charge a success fee on them, the Court of Appeal ruled. The court held by majority that the work done by Costings Ltd for trade union law firm Rowley Ashworth was chargeable as part of the firm’s base costs.
- Zavarco Plc v Tan Sri Syed Mohd Yusof Bin Tun Syed Nasir [2017] EWHC 2877, [2019] EWHC 1837, [2020] EWHC 629 & [2021] EWCA Civ 1217 – The claimant sought to recover from the defendant €36 million as a debt together with interest. The claimant’s case in outline is that (i) the defendant formerly held shares in the claimant, (ii) he was required to pay for the shares in cash, (iii) he has failed to pay for them and (iv) he is, despite the shares having been forfeited, liable to the claimant as a debtor for the nominal value of the shares which is €36 million.
Interests
Football (Liverpool FC & grassroots coaching), Hiking (exploring the Australian Outback), Retro Gaming (Nintendo, Sega, Amiga etc) & Travelling
